GIANTS coach Jon Sharp admits his club will be taking a step into the unknown when they entertain French League frontrunners Pia in the fourth round of the Powergen Challenge Cup.

GIANTS coach Jon Sharp admits his club will be taking a step into the unknown when they entertain French League frontrunners Pia in the fourth round of the Powergen Challenge Cup.

The February 29 clash will be Huddersfield's first against a French side in an official Rugby Football League competition.

Fartown did beat UT Catalan, who are also in the Cup draw, in the Alex Angel Trophy in Barcelona back in May 1993.

But the stakes in this McAlpine clash are far higher with a potential money-spinning fifth-round tie up for grabs, and Sharp admits it could prove interesting.

"This match will certainly be a little different," said Sharp, who has been boosted by the news that star forward Ben Roarty has been cleared of stamping after being placed on report during Sunday's pre-season defeat at Leeds.

"I have to hold my hands up and say I know absolutely nothing about Pia.

"But I am still quite pleased with the way the draw unfolded.

"At this stage of the competition I wanted a home tie against non-Super League opposition, and we've got just that.

"Between now and the tie I obviously intend to find out as much as I can about them.

"I'm good friends with Martin Pearson, who has been playing rugby union in that region, and should know about the league boys, while I'll also be contacting (former Giants assistant coach Steve Deakin), who is now head coach at UT Catalan.

"By the time we take them on, we'll have some idea what to expect."

Pia proved their potential by securing a hard-fought but thoroughly-deserved 22-20 third-round win at National League II side Barrow.

They dominated that match for much of the contest and led 16-4 at half-time before the Raiders fought back to set up a thrilling finale.

Sharp is already in the process of getting his hands on the match video, although he has a rough idea of what to expect.

"The French will be committed to the cause and will relish coming up against a Super League side," said Sharp.

"Two years ago when I was at St Helens we were drawn away to UTC in the fourth round.

"We ended up beating them fairly comfortably, but they gave it a really good go and we were never able to relax.

"I know it's an old cliche, but we will certainly be treating them with the maximum of respect.

"However, we won't lose sight of the fact that we've got a Super League game to play before then.

"It's now only 12 days before we open up with the home match against Castleford and the focus right now is making sure we're right for that match.

"That's all that matters. Once that's out of the way we'll start thinking about Pia and nothing else."

Sharp was delighted to receive the news that Roarty will be available for the Castleford opener after RFL disciplinary chiefs cleared him for an alleged stamp on Leeds' Gary Connolly.

"When an incident is placed on report there's always a slight doubt at the back of your mind," said Sharp.

"So to hear he'll be available to face Cas is a massive boost.

"And I know the entire squad are hoping to be handed another big boost at tonight's season's launch down at the Chicago Rock Cafe (7.00 onwards).

"This will be the first chance for myself and a fair number of the squad to meet informally with the fans, and we're looking forward to it. Knowing the fans are behind us counts for a tremendous amount."